A dissenting
vote on "hideous"
Posted by bob on
March 27, 2003 In Reply to: Re: Telestrate
posted by Brian from Shawnee on March 27, 2003
: : : Does any
one know the meaning of the word "telestrate"? I think it might be some kind of
portmanteau.
: : : Thanks in advance for any information.
: : It's a hideous
word, isn't it? I only know it as a verb and have heard it used by those masters
of word mutilation at Microsoft, amongst others. It's a recent coinage to do with
overlaying graphics onto video, usually in the course of a presentation, or maybe,
if you have interactive TV, if you call up facts about the programme that you
are currently watching which then overlay the screen. The provenance is fairly
depressingly clear - tele as in "television" (a leap of faith from the original
Gr**k "distant") and strate as in L*tin "layer".
: I've never come across this
word in verb form before. I'm familiar with the form "telestrator", which is an
electronic pen used by commentators during sporting events to draw lines on a
freeze-frame on the screen, to clarify some point they're making about the action.
Currently the device is seeing heavy use on maps of Iraq.
: I was somewhat surprised
that "Telestrator" doesn't seem to be a trade mark or brand name.
:
It's
a useful gadget. The sports analyst circles the player-to-pay-attention-to on
the replay, and you learn a little something. Television + demonstrate. But my
immediate concern is ... why is this a "hideous" word? Given that this device
exists, and seems clearly educational, it's here to stay. I'd suggest the verb
that flows from it seems to be useful, too, on the grounds of efficiency: "telestrate"
is a single word that sums up "point out the important things to notice in this
televised image, " an 11-word pile of baggage. It's not a euphonious word, but
not all that clanky, either. Why fight it?
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